LATICS TAME THE SWARMING BEES
BRENTFORD 0 WIGAN ATH 0
FRUSTRATION was the overall feeling from Brentford manager Dean Smith after his side failed to make their dominance count in their goalless draw with Wigan Athletic.
Smith felt the Bees did enough to win the game but also paid tribute to a stubborn and resilient opposition, who claimed their first away point of the campaign.
The draw also extends Brentford’s unbeaten home record as the Londoners continue to establish Griffin Park as a major fortress and a foundation for their impressive start to the season.
Smith named an unchanged lineup to the one that dismantled Reading on Tuesday, with the Bees boss keen to extend the growing sense of optimism around the club.
“I kept the same team as Tuesday as I thought it would have been unjust to have changed it,” Smith said. “It’s another clean sheet and we never looked like conceding, it was just a shame we couldn’t grab all three points.
“We were on top in the second half without opening them up,” Smith added. “The referee certainly helped them slow the game down, but you have to give them credit. I think we’ve got likely goalscorers from lots of areas.
“After our two previous home games a lot of people would have thought we could just turn up and beat Wigan, but they are a strong side and will do well.”
Brentford came closest to winning the game midway through the second half as defender John Egan saw his header rattle against the crossbar.
Brentford’s tally of 13 home goals this season is only matched by Nottingham Forest in the Championship.
And Wigan boss Gary Caldwell praised the character of his side as the Latics withstood mounting pressure to earn a valuable point away from home.
Despite spending the majority of the game on the back foot, the visitors finished the stronger leaving Caldwell more than satisfied with the result.
“There definitely isn’t a lack of character in this team. Today we needed to show that. To come here and get a point is a big result, but we had to dig deep at times,” Caldwell said.
“I think a point was a fair result, we’ve got a long time to assess things. We’ll have a bigger squad to pick from.”
“Both of our centre-halves were sensational in dealing with their threats, particularly Scott Hogan,” Caldwell continued.
“Sometimes you have to do the ugly side of the game, we’ve been poor at that so far this season, but today we were excellent at it.”
The point against Brentford followed up Tuesday’s home victory over Wolves – just their second league win of the season.
Although Wigan remain precariously above the bottom three, Caldwell pointed to the significance of building momentum especially at this stage of the campaign.
“We have momentum now,” he added.
“We would have preferred not to have the international break, but we will come back from the break stronger. We always look upwards, we want to progress. When you have tough times it’s always difficult but you need to pull together.
“I never doubted myself or the players. We’ve taken the hits and now I believe we have a stronger group.”